Casing assembly

ABSTRACT

A casing assembly for accommodating a stylus includes a casing and a button. The casing has an accommodation recess and an opening in communication with each other. The accommodation recess has a first end and a second end opposite to each other on a longitudinal axis thereof, and accommodates the stylus. The opening extends from the first end to the second end. The button includes an operation portion and a pushing portion connected to each other. The operation portion is pivotally disposed at the casing so as to be pivotable between an initial position and a released position. The pushing portion is located in the accommodation recess. When the operation portion is pivoted from the initial position to the released position, the pushing portion in the accommodation recess is moved toward the opening so as to push the stylus out of the accommodation recess.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION

This non-provisional application is a Divisional Application of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 17/524,415, now allowed, the disclosure ofwhich is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a casing assembly and, moreparticularly, to a casing assembly for accommodating a stylus.

Description of the Prior Art

With the progress and development of technology, tablet computers arecommonly used by people in the daily lives or for work. In general, atablet computer may be used selectively with a stylus to performoperations such as writing, manipulating and drawing.

A current common tablet computer is provided with an accommodationrecess for placing a stylus. When the stylus is not in use, the stylusmay be stored in the accommodation recess and be prevented from beinglost. In order to prevent the stylus stored from unexpectedlydisengaging from the accommodation recess, the stylus is secured in theaccommodation recess by a fixing means, and a user needs to pick thestylus by a finger in order to get the stylus out of the accommodationrecess. However, if the stylus is secured too tightly in theaccommodation recess, it may be difficult for the user to pick thestylus out of the accommodation recess. More particularly, when a userwears gloves, picking the stylus out of the accommodation recess by afinger may become even more difficult under the influence of thethickness of the gloves. Therefore, manufacturers of tablet computersare dedicated to improving such issue.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a casing assembly that allows a stylus tobe easily taken out of an accommodation recess.

A casing assembly for accommodating a stylus is disclosed by anembodiment of the present invention. The casing assembly includes acasing and a button. The casing has an accommodation recess and anopening in communication with each other. The accommodation recess has afirst end and a second end opposite to each other on a longitudinal axisthereof, and accommodates the stylus. The opening extends from the firstend to the second end. The button includes an operation portion and apushing portion connected to each other. The operation portion ispivotally disposed at the casing so as to be pivotable between aninitial position and a released position. The pushing portion is locatedin the accommodation recess. When the operation portion is pivoted fromthe initial position to the released position, the pushing portion inthe accommodation recess is moved toward the opening so as to push thestylus out of the accommodation recess.

A casing assembly for accommodating a stylus is further disclosed byanother embodiment of the present invention. The casing assemblyincludes a casing and a button. The casing has a groove. The button ismovably disposed in the groove of the casing so as to be movable betweenan initial position and a released position. The button has a pushingportion, and an accommodation recess and an opening that are incommunication with each other. The accommodation recess has a first endand a second end opposite to each other on a longitudinal axis thereof,and accommodates the stylus. The opening extends from the first end tothe second end. When the button moves from the initial position to thereleased position, the pushing portion approaches the opening from theaccommodation recess so as to push the stylus out of the accommodationrecess.

According to the casing assembly disclosed by the embodiments above, thepushing portion of the button is enabled to push the stylus out of theaccommodation recess by operating the operation portion of the button.Thus, compared to a conventional approach of picking a stylus by afinger, the design of operating the button to withdraw the stylus fromthe accommodation recess provides a more convenient stylus pick-upoperation. In particular, even when a user wears gloves, the user isstill able to easily press the button to push the stylus out of theaccommodation recess and then directly take the stylus.

The description related to the details of the present invention and thedescription of the embodiments below are examples for illustrating andexplaining the principles of the present invention, and provide furtherinterpretation with respect to the scope of claims of the presentinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a casing assembly anda stylus disclosed according to a first embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded schematic diagram of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the stylus in FIG. 3disengaged from the accommodation recess;

FIG. 5 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a casing assembly anda stylus disclosed according to a second embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 6 is an exploded schematic diagram of FIG. 5 ;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of FIG. 5 ; and

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the stylus in FIG. 7disengaged from the accommodation recess.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Refer to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 . FIG. 1 shows a three-dimensional schematicdiagram of a casing assembly and a stylus disclosed according to a firstembodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded schematicdiagram of FIG. 1 . FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram ofFIG. 1 .

In this embodiment, a casing assembly 1 a is for accommodating a stylus2. The casing assembly 1 a includes a casing 10 a and a button 20 a.Moreover, the casing assembly 1 a may further include a magnetic member30 a and two elastic members 40 a.

The casing assembly 1 a is, for example, a casing of an electronicdevice. The casing 10 a is, for example but not limited to, a backplateof a tablet computer. The casing 10 a has an outer surface 11 a, anaccommodation recess 12 a and an opening 13 a. The accommodation recess12 a is formed as being recessed from the outer surface 11 a, and has afirst end 121 a and a second end 122 a opposite to each other. The firstend 121 a and the second end 122 a are respectively located on twoopposite sides on a longitudinal axis P1 of the accommodation recess 12a. A plane where the opening 13 a is located is, for example, coplanarwith the outer surface 11 a of the casing 10 a, and the opening 13 aextends from the first end 121 a to the second end 122 a of theaccommodation recess 12 a. The accommodation recess 12 a is foraccommodating the stylus 2.

In this embodiment, the plane where the opening 13 a is located is notlimited to being coplanar with the outer surface 11 a of the casing 10a. In another embodiment, the plane where the opening is located may benon-coplanar with the outer surface of the casing, and may be, forexample, higher than the outer surface of the casing.

The magnetic member 30 a is, for example, embedded in the casing 10 a,and is near the accommodation recess 12 a. The magnetic member 30 a isfor magnetically attracting another magnetic member 3 disposed in thestylus 2, and hence magnetically fixes the stylus 2 in the accommodationrecess 12 a. The magnetic member 30 a is not limited to being embeddedin the casing 10 a. In another embodiment, the magnetic member may beexposed from an inner wall surface of the accommodation recess. In yetanother embodiment, the magnetic member may be omitted from the casingassembly.

In this embodiment, the casing 10 a may further include a button slot 14a. The button slot 14 a is formed as being recessed from an inner wallsurface 123 a of the accommodation recess 12 a, and is located betweenthe first end 121 a and the second end 122 a of the accommodation recess12 a. The button 20 a includes an operation portion 21 a, a pushingportion 22 a and a stopping portion 23 a. The pushing portion 22 a andthe stopping portion 23 a are connected to two opposite sides of theoperation portion 21 a, respectively, and the operation portion 21 a,the pushing portion 22 a and the stopping portion 23 a jointly form agroove 24 a. The groove 24 a is for collaborating with the accommodationrecess 12 a to accommodate the stylus 2. The operation portion 21 a isin part located in the button slot 14 a and the operation portion 21 ais pivotally disposed at the casing 10 a, and the pushing portion 22 ais located in the accommodation recess 12 a.

In this embodiment, the operation portion 21 a is adapted to bepivotable between an initial position A1 (as shown in FIG. 3 ) and areleased position A2 (as shown in FIG. 4 ). The two elastic members 40 aare, for example, torsion springs. On of the elastic members 40 a isdisposed between one side of the operation portion 21 a of the button 20a and the casing 10 a, and the other elastic member 40 a is disposedbetween the other side of the operation portion 21 a of the button 20 aand the casing 10 a. The two elastic members 40 a are for applying aforce for pivoting the operation portion 21 a from the released positionA2 to the initial position A1.

As shown in FIG. 3 , when the stylus 2 is accommodated in theaccommodation recess 12 a and the groove 24 a and the operation portion21 a of the button 20 a is located at the initial position A1, thepushing portion 22 a is located on one side of the accommodation recess12 a away from the opening 13 a, and the stopping portion 23 a islocated at the opening 13 a and extends to be diagonally above theaccommodation recess 12 a, so as to limit the stylus 2 within theaccommodation recess 12 a.

Next, refer to FIG. 4 . FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional schematic diagramof the stylus in FIG. 3 disengaged from the accommodation recess.

As shown in FIG. 4 , to take the stylus 2 out of the accommodationrecess 12 a, the operation portion 21 a of the button 20 a may bepressed by a finger, so that the operation portion 21 a is pivoted fromthe initial position A1 to the released position A2. During the processof the operation portion 21 a moving from the initial position A1 to thereleased position A2, the operation portion 21 a causes the elasticmembers 40 a to store an elastic restoring force, the stopping portion23 a is away from the opening 13 a, and the pushing portion 22 a movesfrom one side of the accommodation recess 12 a away from the opening 13a toward the opening 13 a. As such, the thrust of the pushing portion 22a of the button 20 a overcomes the magnetic attraction force between thetwo magnetic members 30 a and 3, and then pushes the stylus 2 (locatedin the accommodation recess 12 a) out of the accommodation recess 12 a,allowing the stylus 2 to be taken directly. Once the finger moves awayfrom the button 20 a, the elastic force of the elastic members 40 acauses the operation portion 21 a of the button 20 a to return from thereleased position A2 to the initial position A1.

In this embodiment, the pushing portion 22 a of the button 20 a isenabled to push the stylus 2 out of the accommodation recess 12 a bypressing the operation portion 21 a of the button 20 a. Thus, comparedto a conventional approach of picking the stylus 2 by a finger, thedesign of operating the button 20 a to withdraw the stylus 2 from theaccommodation recess 12 a provides a more convenient stylus pick-upoperation. In particular, even when a user wears gloves, the user isstill able to easily press the button 20 a to push the stylus 2 out ofthe accommodation recess 12 a and then directly take the stylus 2.

Moreover, the stylus 2 is pushed out of the accommodation recess 12 a bythe pushing portion 22 a of the button 20 a, in a directionsubstantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis P1 of theaccommodation recess 12 a, but not in a direction of the longitudinalaxis P1 of the accommodation recess 12 a. Thus, it is not necessary forthe accommodation recess 12 a of the casing 10 a to extend to the edgeof the casing 10 a, hence minimizing the influence of a reduced internalspace of the casing 10 a caused by the accommodation recess 12 aprovided and further benefiting the utilization of the internal space ofthe casing 10 a.

Next, to place the stylus 2 back to the accommodation recess 12 a, in astate where the operation portion 21 a of the button 20 a is at thereleased position A2, the stylus 2 is first placed in the groove 24 a,and the stylus 2 is brought back to the accommodation recess 12 a by thebutton 20 a, while the operation portion 21 a of the button 20 a ispivoted back to the initial position A1 by the elastic force of theelastic members 40 a. Alternatively, in a state where the operationportion 21 a of the button 20 a is at the initial position A1, thestylus 2 is directly fitted into the accommodation recess 12 a and thegroove 24 a.

In this embodiment, when the button 20 a is not pressed, the stylus 2 inthe accommodation recess 12 a is limited by the stopping portion 23 a.Thus, even if the casing 10 a receives an unexpected external impact(such as falling onto the ground), it is ensured that the stylus 2 doesnot disengage from the accommodation recess 12 a.

In this embodiment, the number of the elastic members 40 a is notlimited to being two. In another embodiment, the casing assembly mayinclude only one elastic member. In another embodiment, the elasticmember may be omitted from the casing assembly. In such configuration,the button may be kept at the initial position by an appropriatestructure or element when no external force is exerted thereon.

Next, refer to FIG. 5 to FIG. 7 . FIG. 5 shows a three-dimensionalschematic diagram of a casing assembly and a stylus disclosed accordingto a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 shows anexploded schematic diagram of FIG. 5 . FIG. 7 shows a cross-sectionalschematic diagram of FIG. 5 .

In this embodiment, a casing assembly 1 b is for accommodating a stylus2. The casing assembly 1 b includes a casing 10 b and a button 20 b.Moreover, the casing assembly 1 b may further include two elasticmembers 41 b and 42 b.

The casing 10 b is, for example, a backplate of a tablet computer. Thecasing 10 b has a receiving slot 11 b. The receiving slot 11 b has, forexample, a first receiving portion 111 b and two second receivingportions 112 b. The first receiving portion 111 b is located between thetwo second receiving portions 112 b, and is in communication with thetwo second receiving portions 112 b. A length L1 of the first receivingportion 111 b is greater than a length L2 of the two second receivingportions 112 b.

The button 20 b is movably disposed in the receiving slot 11 b of thecasing 10 b. More specifically, the button 20 b has an accommodationrecess 21 b, an arc inner wall surface 22 b, an opening 23 b, a throughhole 24 b and a pushing portion 25 b. The accommodation recess 21 b isformed by the arc inner wall surface 22 b, and has a first end 211 b anda second end 212 b opposite to each other on a longitudinal axis P2 ofthe accommodation recess 21 b. The opening 23 b and the through hole 24b are located on two opposite sides of the accommodation recess 21 b andare both in communication with the accommodation recess 21 b, and theopening 23 b extends from the first end 211 b to the second end 212 b.The accommodation recess 21 b is for accommodating the stylus 2. Thefirst receiving portion 111 b of the receiving slot 11 b has a slotopening 1111 b and a slot bottom surface 1112 b, wherein the slot bottomsurface 1112 b faces the slot opening 1111 b. The pushing portion 25 bis, for example, a column, and the pushing portion 25 b is connected tothe slot bottom surface 1112 b of the first receiving portion 111 b andis insertedly disposed in the through hole 24 b.

Further, the button 20 b includes a receiving portion 26 b, a firststopping portion 27 b, a second stopping portion 28 b, a first operationportion 29 b and a second operation portion 30 b. The first stoppingportion 27 b and the first operation portion 29 b are connected to oneside of the receiving portion 26 b, and extend toward differentdirections, respectively. The second stopping portion 28 b and thesecond operation portion 30 b are connected to the other side of thereceiving portion 26 b, and extend toward different directions,respectively. Different portions of the arc inner wall surface 22 bforming the accommodation recess 21 b are located at the receivingportion 26 b, the first stopping portion 27 b and the second stoppingportion 28 b, respectively. That is to say, the accommodation recess 21b is jointly formed by the receiving portion 26 b, the first stoppingportion 27 b and the second stopping portion 28 b. The receiving portion26 b is located at the first receiving portion 111 b of the receivingslot 11 b, and the first operation portion 29 b and the second operationportion 30 b are located at the two second receiving portions 112 b ofthe receiving slot 11 b, respectively.

In this embodiment, the button 20 b is adapted to be movable between aninitial position B1 (as shown in FIG. 7 ) and a released position B2 (asshown in FIG. 8 ) relative to the casing 10 b. The two elastic members41 b and 42 b are, for example, compression springs. The two elasticmembers 41 b and 42 b are located at the two second receiving portions112 b of the receiving slot 11 b, respectively, two opposite ends of theelastic member 41 b are connected to the first operation portion 29 b ofthe button 20 b and the casing 10 b, respectively, and two opposite endsof the elastic member 42 b are connected to the second operation portion30 b of the button 20 b and the casing 10 b, respectively. The twoelastic members 41 b and 42 b are for applying a force for moving thebutton 20 b from the released position B2 to the initial position B1.

As shown in FIG. 7 , when the button 20 b is located at the initialposition B1 and the stylus 2 is accommodated in the accommodation recess21 b, the stylus 2 is limited by the first stopping portion 27 b and thesecond stopping portion 28 b and is hence fixed in the accommodationrecess 21 b. At this time point, the pushing portion 25 b of the button20 b is, for example, slightly protruding from the arc inner wallsurface 22 b of the button 20 b, and is located on one side of theaccommodation recess 21 b away from the opening 23 b.

Next, refer to FIG. 8 . FIG. 8 shows a cross-sectional schematic diagramof the stylus in FIG. 7 disengaged from the accommodation recess.

To take the stylus 2 out of the accommodation recess 21 b, the firstoperation portion 29 b and the second operation portion 30 b of thebutton 20 b may be pressed by two fingers, such that the button 20 bmoves from the initial position B1 to the released position B2. Duringthe process of the button 20 b moving from the initial position B1 tothe released position B2, the receiving portion 26 b of the button 20 bmoves toward the slot bottom surface 1112 b of the first receivingportion 111 b of the casing 10 b, such that the pushing portion 25 bprotrudes even more from the arc inner wall surface 22 b and approachesthe opening 23 b of the button 20 b along a radial direction of the arcinner wall surface 22 b, and overcomes the limitation posed by the firststopping portion 27 b and the second stopping portion 28 b so furtherpush the stylus 2 out of the accommodation recess 21 b. When the fingersmove away from the button 20 b, the elastic force of the elastic members41 b and 42 b causes the button 20 b to return from the releasedposition B2 to the initial position B1.

In this embodiment, the pushing portion 25 b of the button 20 b isenabled to push the stylus 2 out of the accommodation recess 21 b bypressing the first operation portion 29 b and the second operationportion 30 b of the button 20 b. Thus, compared to a conventionalapproach of picking the stylus 2 by a finger, the design of operatingthe button 20 b to withdraw the stylus 2 from the accommodation recess21 b provides a more convenient stylus pick-up operation. In particular,even when a user wears gloves, the user is still able to easily pressthe button 20 b to push the stylus 2 out of the accommodation recess 21b and then directly take the stylus 2.

Moreover, the stylus 2 is pushed out of the accommodation recess 21 b bythe pushing portion 25 b of the button 20 b, in a directionperpendicular to the longitudinal axis P2 of the accommodation recess 21b, but not in a direction of the longitudinal axis P2 of theaccommodation recess 21 b. Thus, it is not necessary for theaccommodation recess 21 b to extend to the edge of the casing 10 b,hence minimizing the influence of a reduced internal space of the casing10 b caused by the accommodation recess 21 b provided and furtherbenefiting the utilization of the internal space of the casing 10 b.

Next, to place the stylus 2 back to the accommodation recess 21 b, in astate where the button 20 b is at the initial position A1, the stylus 2is directly fitted into the accommodation recess 21 b of the button 20b.

In this embodiment, when the button 20 b is not pressed, even if thecasing 10 b receives an unexpected external impact (such as falling ontothe ground), it is ensured that the stylus 2 located in theaccommodation recess 21 b is still limited by the first stopping portion27 b and the second stopping portion 28 b, and is kept in theaccommodation recess 21 b.

In this embodiment, the number of the elastic members 41 b and 42 b istwo; however, the present invention is not limited thereto. In anotherembodiment, the casing assembly may include only one elastic member. Inyet another embodiment, the elastic member may be omitted from thecasing assembly.

When the button 20 b is at the initial position B1, the pushing portion25 b is not limited to being slightly protruding from the arc inner wallsurface 22 b of the button 20 b. In another embodiment, when the buttonis at the initial position B1, one end of the pushing portion may bealigned with the arc inner surface of the button or be withdrawn intothe arc inner surface of the button.

In this embodiment, the button 20 b has a through hole 24 b for thepushing portion 25 b to pass through; however, the present invention isnot limited thereto. In another embodiment, the button may exclude suchthrough hole. In such configuration, the pushing portion may be locatednext to one of the two opposite ends of the receiving portion of thebutton. When the button moves from the initial position to the releasedposition, the pushing portion is still able to push the stylus out ofthe accommodation recess.

In this embodiment, the surface forming the accommodation recess 21 b isthe arc inner wall surface 22 b; however, the present invention is notlimited thereto. In another embodiment, the surface forming theaccommodation recess may be a surface with angles and corners.

In this embodiment, the button 20 b includes two operation portions (thefirst operation portion 29 b and the second operation portion 30 b);however, the present invention is not limited thereto. In anotherembodiment, the button may include only one operation portion.

In the casing assembly according to the embodiments above, the pushingportion of the button is enabled to push the stylus out of theaccommodation recess by operating the operation portion(s) of thebutton. Thus, compared to a conventional approach of picking the stylusby a finger, the design of operating the button to withdraw the stylusfrom the accommodation recess provides a more convenient stylus pick-upoperation. In particular, even when a user wears gloves, the user isstill able to easily press the button to push the stylus out of theaccommodation recess and then directly take the stylus.

In addition, when the button is not pressed, even if the casing receivesan unexpected external impact (such as falling onto the ground), it isensured that the stylus located in the accommodation recess is stilllimited by the stopping portion(s), and is kept in the accommodationrecess.

Moreover, the stylus is pushed out of the accommodation recess by thepushing portion of the button, in a direction perpendicular to thelongitudinal axis of the accommodation recess, but not in a direction ofthe longitudinal axis of the accommodation recess. Thus, it is notnecessary for the accommodation recess to extend to the edge of thecasing, hence minimizing the influence of a reduced internal space ofthe casing caused by the accommodation recess provided and furtherbenefiting the utilization of the internal space of the casing.

Although the present invention is disclosed by way of the preferredembodiments above, the embodiments are not to be construed aslimitations to the present invention. Without departing from the spiritand scope of the present invention, slight changes and modifications maybe made by a person skilled in the art. Therefore, the scope ofprotection of the present invention shall be defined by the appendedclaims of the application.

What is claimed is:
 1. A casing assembly for accommodating a stylus,comprising: a casing, having a receiving slot; and a button, movablydisposed in the receiving slot of the casing so as to be movable betweenan initial position and a released position, the button comprising apushing portion and an accommodation recess and an opening incommunication with each other, the accommodation recess having a firstend and a second end opposite to each other on a longitudinal axis ofthe accommodation recess, the opening extending from the first end tothe second end, the accommodation recess being for accommodating thestylus; wherein, when the button moves from the initial position to thereleased position, the pushing portion approaches the opening from theaccommodation recess so as to push the stylus out of the accommodationrecess.
 2. The casing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the buttonfurther has a through hole, the through hole is in communication withthe accommodation recess, and the pushing portion is insertedly disposedin the through hole.
 3. The casing assembly according to claim 1,wherein the button further has an arc inner wall surface, and the arcinner wall surface forms the accommodation recess; when the button movesfrom the initial position to the released position, the pushing portionis for pushing the stylus from the opening out of the accommodationrecess of the button along a radial direction of the arc inner wallsurface.
 4. The casing assembly according to claim 1, wherein the buttoncomprises a receiving portion, a first stopping portion, a secondstopping portion and a first operation portion, the first stoppingportion and the first operation portion are connected to one side of thereceiving portion and extend toward different directions, respectively,the second stopping portion is connected to the other side of thereceiving portion, and the receiving portion, the first stopping portionand the second stopping portion jointly form the accommodation recess.5. The casing assembly according to claim 4, wherein the button furthercomprises a second operation portion, and the second stopping portionand the second operation portion are connected to a same side of thereceiving portion and extend toward different directions, respectively.6. The casing assembly according to claim 1, further comprising: atleast one elastic member, disposed at the button, for applying a forcefor moving the button from the released position to the initialposition.